Which Pro is Most Textbook?

[ghost121]

2 days ago there was an exhibition somewhat near to where I live. Trump, Robertson, Murphy and Selby were in action. I made sure I got first row ticket so that I could observe their technique in person. I have seen pros play in person before, but it is always good to be reminded of just how out of this world their abilities are. All 4 strike the ball so sweet and true. I was especially looking forward to see Mark Selby play, since I've seen other 3 players before. And I wasn't disappointed.
Well, let me just tell you that TV doesn't do Mark justice. His technique looks superb in person, his cue is not that angled downwards at all, and it seems to me that it is actually him that strikes the ball the smoothest of the four. His backswing is slowest and most controlled and initial acceleration is slowest too. Now that I've seen him live, I am not surprised at his success. Not one little bit. It is his cue action that wins tournaments, not his tactics. Got to pot those balls under pressure somehow.
And oh, of the bunch, Shaun Murphy looks most text book to me. Cue in the middle of chin and all that. Chin and chest contact relaxed, not that firm.

Excellent post. Thanks.

[Big Splash!]

2 days ago there was an exhibition somewhat near to where I live. Trump, Robertson, Murphy and Selby were in action. I made sure I got first row ticket so that I could observe their technique in person. I have seen pros play in person before, but it is always good to be reminded of just how out of this world their abilities are. All 4 strike the ball so sweet and true. I was especially looking forward to see Mark Selby play, since I've seen other 3 players before. And I wasn't disappointed.
Well, let me just tell you that TV doesn't do Mark justice. His technique looks superb in person, his cue is not that angled downwards at all, and it seems to me that it is actually him that strikes the ball the smoothest of the four. His backswing is slowest and most controlled and initial acceleration is slowest too. Now that I've seen him live, I am not surprised at his success. Not one little bit. It is his cue action that wins tournaments, not his tactics. Got to pot those balls under pressure somehow.
And oh, of the bunch, Shaun Murphy looks most text book to me. Cue in the middle of chin and all that. Chin and chest contact relaxed, not that firm.

Selby has worked on grip and cue action a lot down the years. Many don't know this. It's obviously paying off and proves we can all learn and improve.

[itsnoteasy]

2 days ago there was an exhibition somewhat near to where I live. Trump, Robertson, Murphy and Selby were in action. I made sure I got first row ticket so that I could observe their technique in person. I have seen pros play in person before, but it is always good to be reminded of just how out of this world their abilities are. All 4 strike the ball so sweet and true. I was especially looking forward to see Mark Selby play, since I've seen other 3 players before. And I wasn't disappointed.
Well, let me just tell you that TV doesn't do Mark justice. His technique looks superb in person, his cue is not that angled downwards at all, and it seems to me that it is actually him that strikes the ball the smoothest of the four. His backswing is slowest and most controlled and initial acceleration is slowest too. Now that I've seen him live, I am not surprised at his success. Not one little bit. It is his cue action that wins tournaments, not his tactics. Got to pot those balls under pressure somehow.
And oh, of the bunch, Shaun Murphy looks most text book to me. Cue in the middle of chin and all that. Chin and chest contact relaxed, not that firm.

Good post! If I could say one thing every pro does that I have seen,that we don't, it would be they all let the cue do the work and don't hit at anything.

[winphenom]

2 days ago there was an exhibition somewhat near to where I live. Trump, Robertson, Murphy and Selby were in action. I made sure I got first row ticket so that I could observe their technique in person. I have seen pros play in person before, but it is always good to be reminded of just how out of this world their abilities are. All 4 strike the ball so sweet and true. I was especially looking forward to see Mark Selby play, since I've seen other 3 players before. And I wasn't disappointed.
Well, let me just tell you that TV doesn't do Mark justice. His technique looks superb in person, his cue is not that angled downwards at all, and it seems to me that it is actually him that strikes the ball the smoothest of the four. His backswing is slowest and most controlled and initial acceleration is slowest too. Now that I've seen him live, I am not surprised at his success. Not one little bit. It is his cue action that wins tournaments, not his tactics. Got to pot those balls under pressure somehow.
And oh, of the bunch, Shaun Murphy looks most text book to me. Cue in the middle of chin and all that. Chin and chest contact relaxed, not that firm.

So absolutely and perfectly true mate. Just saw Thepchaiya in live exhibition action just a few days ago in singapore. The way they hit the ball is so sweet and effortless. Can really see how much hard work these pros must have put into their technique to reach such heights. It was extremely perfect in both timing and hitting that potting and cueball placing is so easy to them. Makes me want to give up playing as it is almost impossible for me to even reach half that ability. Haha.

[ace man]

Good post! If I could say one thing every pro does that I have seen,that we don't, it would be they all let the cue do the work and don't hit at anything.

Yes. This precisely. I thought I was letting the cue do its work. For sure, compared to guys who make over 30 break once a year, I do just that and I am super smooth with cue action. But compared to these top professionals, I have a lumberjack of a technique I'm afraid, certainly true on some more demanding shots or under pressure.
But no worries, this is to be expected.

[jonny66]

If you believe you have a terrible cue action, you will have a terrible cue action, just relax and stroke it home.

This is what I'm trying to convince myself of, it's easy but you make it hard.

[ace man]

If you believe you have a terrible cue action, you will have a terrible cue action, just relax and stroke it home.

This is what I'm trying to convince myself of, it's easy but you make it hard.

I did not say that. I said compared to top professionals, my cue action it is horrible. Compared to 20 breakers it is great. And I'm happy with that and I'm even improving slightly.
You obviously have a different approach.

[Big Splash!]

Soft hand lads, soft hands. Less is more. Glide it, empty your mind and be calm. Fear not losing, do not look forward to victory; climb into the bubble and express your art. Enjoy your performance, there will be plenty more plays even if this one doesn't go as planned. Oh, and smile!

[jonny66]

I did not say that. I said compared to top professionals, my cue action it is horrible. Compared to 20 breakers it is great. And I'm happy with that and I'm even improving slightly.
You obviously have a different approach.

Nope, the same approach, just I think the mind can be very powerful in this game we love. I have, and I think you do too, the power to cue just as well as a top professional, I just don't do it as often as they do. To butcher a quote from my favourite film "sometimes you hit the ball, sometimes the ball hits you."

Soft hand lads, soft hands. Less is more. Glide it, empty your mind and be calm. Fear not losing, do not look forward to victory; climb into the bubble and express your art. Enjoy your performance, there will be plenty more plays even if this one doesn't go as planned. Oh, and smile!

You should make motivational listening tapes (tapes? who remembers them?) for snooker players, or an app. Splashers snooker meditation. Feel the ball, be the ball, be water.

[ace man]

2 days ago there was an exhibition somewhat near to where I live. Trump, Robertson, Murphy and Selby were in action. I made sure I got first row ticket so that I could observe their technique in person. I have seen pros play in person before, but it is always good to be reminded of just how out of this world their abilities are. All 4 strike the ball so sweet and true. I was especially looking forward to see Mark Selby play, since I've seen other 3 players before. And I wasn't disappointed.
Well, let me just tell you that TV doesn't do Mark justice. His technique looks superb in person, his cue is not that angled downwards at all, and it seems to me that it is actually him that strikes the ball the smoothest of the four. His backswing is slowest and most controlled and initial acceleration is slowest too. Now that I've seen him live, I am not surprised at his success. Not one little bit. It is his cue action that wins tournaments, not his tactics. Got to pot those balls under pressure somehow.
And oh, of the bunch, Shaun Murphy looks most text book to me. Cue in the middle of chin and all that. Chin and chest contact relaxed, not that firm.

Hello guys. I'm quoting my post from nearly 5 months ago, because tomorrow there is another pro exhibition coming up at exactly the same place last one was. This time only two famous players. Judd Trump and Ronnie O'Sullivan. Have never seen Ronnie play in person before, it should be great. Like the last time, I hope I'll be close enough to be able to observe both player's technique in detail.

[ace man]

And so I have finally seen Ronnie O'Sullivan play in person yesterday. But first things first. It was not only him and Judd. Luca Brecel and Oliver Lines played a best of five prior to Ronnie and Judd who were scheduled for a best of 9. Now for my observations.

Oliver Lines: now this lad has something that you could call a classic technique. To me it looks so quirk free, that it is hard to notice anything that is non orthodox. Nice soft touch among the balls, great to watch.

Luca Brecel: my word this boy has a long bridge length and a huge backswing, bringing the cue ferrule back to V on most shots. On some shots half a metre bridge length or more. No joke. He opens his grip on backswing way more then other 3. How he's able to control that super complex cue action I'll never know. But he's butter smooth. May come as a surprise, but quite good at laying snookers.

Ronnie O'Sullivan: to be honest, I was expecting him to look a bit more flamboyant. Yes, he plays fast and loose, but make no mistake about it. The pre shot routine is always there, and he never rushes the shot. Stance rock solid, full 4 point contact, cues slightly to the left of the chin, feathering always the same, final pull back much slower and then a lovely accelerated forward motion. His cue does seem slightly more angled downwards than say Judd's. The clearance between his cue and top of the rail is say one to two chalk widths, so it is still pretty parallel. His elbow drop? Yes, it is there, but this is very controlled. His finish position is either below the chest or on slightly lower part of chest than the other three. I don't believe he drops the elbow prior to contact.
If you are the type of player who drops the elbow on follow through, like I am, chances are you're probably doing too much of it, way more than Ronnie.
His left handed action? It does look a little strange, kind of misaligned compared to his right handed action, grip straight down, not cocked. Still he is good enough with it not to require the rest that often.
Rest play? Again, butter smooth.
Uses a lot of spin and drag on those shots to nothing, perhaps a bit more than other three? Just speculating.

Judd Trump: his cue almost never leaves that grip, bridge, chin and chest tunnel. It is always there. I kept trying to observe how he corrects his initial alignment to the right of the cue ball. If you didn't know it was there, you would not notice it. He seems to initially cue across, ever so slightly into the chest. Since he's left handed, this brings the cue to the left. How much? Exactly as much as Judd wants. Sounds complex? I suppose this is how he sees the straight line.
His right handed action has no such correction. It may not be on par with Ronnie's left handed action, but he's able to produce almost anything with it.
Rumour about possible injury? Nah, the guy is a dynamite, cue power is there and it is insane. World championships was a minor setback. Of all four players he has by far shown the most, absolute machine, lovely two tons.

[Inoffthered]

If there is any one to copy, for me is Ding Junhui. Perfect straight cue action

Agreed. Prob. technically the best player on the tour..